Meatball Marinara Zucchini Boats

Zucchini Boats. What are they? How are they? When are they? I’ve been without any carbs or refined sugars in my system for about 12 days now. Being a huge bread fan I’ve had to get a little creative to get my fix, and I’ve found another great way to add a twist to my dinners with zucchini! Why have a meatball marinara sandwich, when I can have a meatball marinara zucchini boats?!

If you’ve been following my weightloss journey on Snapchat, you’ll know that I’m into my 3rd week on the Personal Trainer Food RECON program, and going strong! They tell you not to way yourself, but I had to check in halfway through, and i’ve lost about 12 pounds, and I hardly feel like I’m on a diet, with the exception of not being able to have any alcohol, starches or sugars. Probably 3 of my favorite things, but look at this zucchini boat, you’ll forgot that you’re even restricted from eating certain foods!

So to make this recipe really top notch, the marinara is made with fresh roma tomatoes from scratch! Sounds a little intimidating, but I made it as easy as it can get and it takes no more than 25 minutes to cook, and if you’re also on the Personal Trainer Food RECON program like me, you’ll have plenty extra to add on other foods. Make a chicken parm, or zucchini-noodle (I’m not using the word “zoodle” on my blog. Crap. I just used the word “zoodle” on my blog..) spaghetti with meatballs

I don’t know about you, but I’m not the biggest fan of zucchini, It’s normally mushy and flavorless every-time I eat it. 2 o my least favorite qualities in a vegetable. I went into this recipe thinking “Ok, I’ll just tough it out, because it’s healthy”, but I found that I loved it! The trick? I slightly under-cooked them so that they still had a bite to them, making the texture really amazing and delicious, topped with the Personal Trainer Food Meatballs (which makes this meal that much easier), marinara, and mozzarella cheese? It’s the bee’s knees..

???? Yes. I said the bee’s knees. ????

So now that I’ve been enlightened by the world of zucchini boats, I don’t know if I’m going back. it’s definitely something I’ll be making more of in the future, becuase you can really fill these things with anything, especially leftovers making a potentially (depending on what you top them with) healthy and quick meal!

Prep Tip

Make Ahead

If you have time to on the weekend definitely make the marinara sauce a head of time if you’re looking to have something quick to make on the weekday. The marinara takes about 25-30 minutes to simmer down, with preparing the zucchini boats and cooking about an additional 15 minutes. So with marinara prepped you can be in zucchini boat heaven in less than 20 minutes on a weeknight!

Don’t Peel The Tomatoes

A lot of fresh marinara sauce recipes call for peeling the skin off the tomatoes. I say NO TIME! leave the peels on the tomatoes, and at the end blend the marinara, you wont even know they’re in there. Plus, you get a lot more nutrients by leaving the skin in the marinara, so time saved and better for you. Win, Win!

Chop your onions and bell pepper, mince garlic, and place in a sauce pan on medium heat with oilive oil. shredd about 1/4 cup of a carrot into the pan and let it sweat down for about 2-3 minutes.

Cut your roma tomatoes in half and place in the pan; Let it cook for about 2 minutes.

At this point they should be soft enough that you can break them down a little with a spatula, let this simmer on medium low heat for about 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the sauce is simmering, preheat your oven to 400F. Cut your zucchini in half long-ways, and scoop the center out with a spoon. season with salt and pepper and place on a cookie sheet.

When the sauce is done simmering, add in some fresh chopped basil; stir and turn the heat off.

Pour the marinara into a blender/food processor and pulse for about 30 seconds. It'll look a little orange, because of the carrots, so don't worry. Taste it it's going to be amazing!

Prepare the zucchini boats. Cut the meatballs in half and place about 4 halves in each boat. Top with marinara and cheese and place in the over for about 10-12 minutes. Cook longer if you prefer your zucchini softer.